President Obama spends Wednesday trying to recruit new backers in his budget battles with congressional Republicans: Corporate executives.

Obama meets with members of the Business Roundtable as the White House and Congress face the prospects of a government shutdown and another standoff over the debt ceiling.

The White House says Obama will ask the business leaders to talk to congressional Republicans “to grow the economy, create jobs, and not reverse the progress we’ve made by shutting down the government or threatening to force the United States to default on the bills it has already racked up and owes.”

Some problems are so complex and difficult, they’re nearly impossible to solve. Avoiding a government shutdown isn’t one of them.

After his far-right members vetoed his preferred solution, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) could have very easily reached out to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), put some modest enticements on the table, and picked up plenty of votes to approve a stop-gap spending measure. The whole thing could have been wrapped up in an afternoon, and the media would have cheered Boehner for constructive, bipartisan governing.

Exactly zero of the right wing red-hot-siren warnings about shooting health insurance costs (“rate shock”) has panned out, but plenty of rate shock has been received on the other end of the scale – with tons of people shocked to find checks from their insurance companies in their mailboxes, rates reduced for their children with pre-existing conditions, and outrageously inexpensive rates in the state exchanges about to open in less than two weeks.

And here comes another: of the people who are eligible for either Medicaid or premium subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, six out of 10 Americans currently uninsured will be able to get coverage for $100 or less per month.

Brian Walsh, a former spokesperson for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, recently offered his take on why far-right groups like Heritage Action and the Senate Conservatives Fund keep Republican activists so riled up about the Affordable Care Act: “[T]his is about political cash, not political principle…. You see, money begets TV ads which begets even more money for these groups’ personal coffers.”

According to Walsh, who knows the internal workings of GOP politics quite well, conservative activist organizations are effectively waging a political war because political wars make for a convenient fundraising tool.

ThinkProgress: Latest Obamacare Lie Claims Doctors Will Be Forced To Ask Patients About Their Sexual History

In a New York Post op-ed, the inventor of the death panels lie, Betsy McCaughey, now claims that the Affordable Care Act is turning “doctors into government agents” by having them ask patients about their sex history. “Obamacare will question your sex life,” the headline says, and the issue has gained traction among conservatives. For example, Media Matters notes how Fox and Friends has amplified McCaughey’s argument, claiming that “doctors will be forced to ask patients about their sex life, even if it has nothing to do with the medical treatment that they are seeking at the time.”

But the questions McCaughey finds so outrageous are already routine physician practice…

Today the Obama administration declassified another FISA Court ruling. This is a big one. In it, the court ruled that the NSA collection of metadata is constitutional…..

…. Given that a headline like the one I’ve used here doesn’t attract the kind of linkbait you get from saying “The government is illegally spying on you!” it will be interesting to see how many media outlets report on this story.

Did you know House Republicans are planning a hearing on climate science for [today]? It’s true — and it should provide a useful glimpse into whether Republicans are prepared to start caring publicly about the issue, and if so, how they’ll go about doing that given the climate science denialists in their ranks.

…. Gina McCarthy, the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency, will be testifying. She is already something of a lightning rod, so this is legitimately a big deal: House Republicans will probably be signaling how they will respond when the EPA rolls out its new rules governing carbon emissions on new power plans, a central item on Obama’s agenda that is going to provoke a huge fight…

It’s been about three months since President Obama unveiled a fairly ambitious agenda to combat the climate crisis, and in the immediate aftermath, Republicans had very little to say about it. Indeed, Politico reported in June that GOP leaders came up with a game plan: ignore the speech, ignore global warming, and generally ignore science altogether.

A philanthropist who has donated millions to gun safety causes and groups is urging donors to withhold their support from Democrats who oppose gun safety regulations, following Monday’s shooting at Washington’s Navy Yard.

“Each time large-scale gun violence strikes our country—at a workplace, a movie theater, a political rally, or most devastating of all, at a school—a public debate about gun laws ensues,” Eli Broad, who has also funded some of the Center for American Progress’ gun work, wrote in a dairy for the Daily Kos on Tuesday. “Then, Congress promises action. But every time, our elected officials fail to deliver.”

Schultz wrote that it had been the company’s policy to follow local laws. In states with so-called “open carry” laws, customers were permitted to bring firearms into stores.

But that policy inadvertently thrust Starbucks into the debate over “open carry” and recent events have prompted the company to shift course. Pro-gun advocates staged a “Starbucks Appreciation Day” last month to commend the company for its position on “open carry.” Schultz wrote that those advocates “disingenuously” portrayed the company as a “champion of ‘open carry.'”

Just over 10 years ago, the private equity mogul Glenn Hutchins was on vacation in Martha’s Vineyard. With his 25th Harvard College reunion near, he was thinking about how to put some of his wealth to good use.

One afternoon, clad in a T-shirt and board shorts, he stopped at an old whaling chapel, where Henry Louis Gates Jr., the prominent professor of African and African-American studies at Harvard, was leading a symposium.

That encounter gave Mr. Hutchins his cause.

Since then, Mr. Hutchins has strengthened his connection to Mr. Gates and the Harvard program. Their bond will become stronger on Wednesday, when Mr. Hutchins is expected to announce a gift of more than $15 million to create the Hutchins Center for African and African-American Research, solidifying Harvard’s program as one of the top in its field.

Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis (D) is almost ready to announce her gubernatorial bid – but first she will expand her social network just a little bit more.

In an e-mail sent to her supporters Wednesday morning, Davis – who garnered national attention this summer for fighting a sweeping antiabortion bill in her state – wrote she will be “answering the question” of what’s next for her career on Oct. 3. But before making her formal announcement, she posed a question of her own: “Do you have any friends or family who would like to be among the first to know?

The Republican Party is descending into unchartered realms of unpopularity with the country, even as its deepening divisions leave it immobilized in the face of doomsday budget deadlines.[1] If you want to know why Speaker Boehner has appealed to Democrats for help, you need go no further than the three ascendant blocs of Evangelicals, Tea Party supporters, and moderates that we described in our first Republican Party Project report last month.[2]

But you will understand the current war in the Republican Party better if you are able to see the the six underlying attitudinal dimensions that run through the consciousness of today’s Republican Party supporters. It is these dimensions that create the passionate factions at war against ‘Obamacare,” gay marriage, and immigration.

We uncovered these underlying dimensions using a multivariate factor analysis that took the inter-correlation of each question with every other question to identify factors that organize Republican voter consciousness on a range of issues, from politics to values to emotions.[3] We used big data analysis to identify six underlying dimensions that, in effect, map the Republican brain.

These are the six dimensions running through the attitudes of Republican identifiers:

I am amaze at John Boehner, is all he want is to say that he was Speaker of the House. Most people would like to have a title like that, but they just don’t want the title, they want the record to show that they accomplish something while they had that title. It is not just me saying this, but Boehner will go down in history as the worse Speaker ever and that isn’t anything to be proud about. I mean what have Boehner done? Nothing.

What terrifies me – they must have polling that shows it’s ‘truth’ to Republicans that if PBO doesn’t cave and give up ACA, Social Security and the entire safety net, the shutdown of the government will be PBO’s fault.

No one, not even lazy John Boehner, could be this bad at his job unless he was sure this was in some way a winner with Republican voters.

can’t we impeach the entire Republican caucus for dereliction of duty?

And fine them for all the wages and benefits they have claimed without doing their jobs? This all goes beyond the pale, how they justify their actions and behavior.. There are some very sick people in those seats.

The US House has time for hearings intended to obstruct administration efforts on climate change, time for hearings on Benghazi and no time to stop the destruction of the economy through a government shutdown and default? And they’re convinced that the American people will believe that this is the president’s fault. If there was ever a time for community organizing, this is it. We’ve got to start getting the message out to our teams, to our neighbors and to our call lists. We need to fight back by delivering the truth before anyone even begins to believe the House Republicans are not dangerously at fault here. The WSJ predicts the Republicans might lose the House if they go down this path. Let’s make absolutely sure that happens. If there’s a fund to contribute to for national ads about this frightening GOP course, I’m in. We can’t leave anything undone to make sure that we capture the House and keep the Senate. Boehner can’t handle the burden of Speakership. Let’s knock it off his shoulders and give it to a Democrat who can carry it with pride.

And I’m hoping that Democrat would be Nancy Smash! It’s her choice, but she’s my choice.

Watched the congressional medal ceremony on C-Span last week, for the four young girls who perished in Birmingham, 50 years ago. Not to put a damper on that beautiful event, but Boehner cried openly and uncontrollably through his entire remarks. Yes, it was an event to cry about, but as the Speaker of the House of Representatives – with the real live Speaker-for-Life Pelosi, a grandmother, managing to get herself through her remarks in a dignified and professional fashion – there’s no way he should “lose it,” every time he’s before a camera. The man has issues. As you said, he can’t handle the burden of Speakership. I’m pretty sure he’s not handling the burden of anything much in his life. His family needs to encourage him to STEP DOWN NOW. Of course, Cantor is standing by and that guy appears as though he’s never cried for anyone but himself in life – so one doesn’t know what to wish for, I guess. I’m sick of it.

Great take down of that village idiot. Chuck Todd is a pathetic waste of space. As the 2012 campaign clearly illustrated, the MSM will allow the GOP to lie without consequence. Remember when the WaPo “fact checker” said it is not his job to point out Romney’s lies. How the MSM has any credibility left with the public is beyond my ability to comprehend. They are so open and casual about the fact that they carry water for the GOP.

Please Note whenever these so called Media pundits say such bat poop nonsense, it is always when and where TBGOPers are concerned. They have Not one iota problem Calling Dems or President Obama out in a nanosecond.

Indeed. Remember how John Kerry’s supposed “flip flopping” was such an issue when he ran for president, but Romney was allowed to flip flop with impunity. I’m not exaggerating when I say that the MSM is the communications arm of the GOP.

Right now it’s a toss up between upChuck Todd, Jake “the Snake” Tapper and Ezra “unqualified douchebag snob” Klein.

This is the most ridiculous statement I have ever heard.

How about putting President Obama in a catch-22? It’s his job to explain Obamacare, but the media refuses to cover his explanations, preferring to ask probing questions about scandlabra, Benghazi, what have your been doing for the past 5 years, where were you really born, etc.

I appreciated this graph when Dr Maddow showed. But the Mass shootings didn’t start in 1949. In AZ and FL in the 1920s and before that of Massacres of African Americans came to mind. I called MSNBC and left a message on that very topic.

You’re right, of course, especially since lynchings were apparently legal well into the 20th century.

This country has a shameful history in the way persons of color have been treated, from Native Americans to African Americans to the Chinese Americans who pretty much completed the western portion of the Transcontinental Railroad, so it’s understandable that MSNBC chose a mid-20th century starting point.

But still. Why is limiting high-magazine cartridges a heavy lift for Congress?

NRA would fight it, and the NRA controls enough members of Congress to prevent passage of sensible gun control measures. NRA is against any regulation of firearms. They view any gun regulation as a “slippery slope” that will lead to more gun regulations.

With all due respect to the innocent lives lost, the call to police by Aaron Alexis was a cry for help – possibly, one of many. I believe he was suffering through a full emotional crisis. For our sake, we need a full investigation of what happened after that date, and why whatever happened next didn’t get him the help he so sorely needed.

And then we need new gun control laws, or a total prohibition on ownership of guns by anyone other than law enforcement, or somewhere in between. Enough.

“I have had a recent experience with this country’s mental health system and it is 100 % broken.

We could not get a family member help without a court order and having the police come and take her away twice.. Then she got bounced around the system for several months…from one facility to another and another and another…

Her children had to petition the court for control by conservatorship…..and control of her money.

No insurance . The bills are almost 100k and she still is not getting the needed outpatient treatment.”

I have the same problem with an older brother. He spent over $20K, bought a truck, and over drew this checking and savings. He has not had insurance for over ten years. He has signs of every dementia but when I took him to the emergency the doctors would not talk to me because I did not have conservatorhip even with him telling them they could. I understand the medical and judicial system protecting the individual but when medical care and the legal costs are high for people with limited means, caring for loved ones in this situation is truly a nightmare especially when you have to work and do this on your own time.

This country is completely dysfunctional. We can’t have a serious conversation about mental health. The issues are complex, case-by-case scenarios cannot be lumped into a one-size-fits-all. It requires a deep desire to help people and fix a problem – do you see that happening in this political climate?

Do we want everyone who is depressed or has a meltdown to be tagged by the system? In order to actually help people, there would have to be a serious commitment of resources and manpower. Yeah, sure.

And there’s the terrifying other side to this equation: we no longer teach people how to deal with conflict, deal with hopeless thoughts or depression. We are headed toward a conventional wisdom that says every conflict is a threat and should be settled with a gun. It’s effing insane.

the host on a progressive radio show yesterday didn’t handle this very well. (Easy for me to say, driving home in my car). A caller was proud of the fact that he got rid of his daughter’s fear of guns and at 17 she could shoot a glock to ‘defend herself’. “Who’s going to defend her from a rapist? You liberals?”, he said.

I would have asked him – have you taught your daughter that everyone walking down the street is a threat to her? That she has the right to ‘decide’ she’s in danger and blow someone away? Is that alleged ‘rapist’ going to pause while she gets her gun? Does she know that 99% of the people in the world are NOT a threat? Do you realize that that gun could be used on or by a boyfriend, or found by her child or the friend of her child? That an argument over who does the dishes can escalate to gun injury or death just because there is (1) no education on how to manage anger and conflict; and (2) access to a gun?

My husband’s RWNJ best friend is talking about using his gun to defend his house and his person in ways he never dreamed of 10, 15 years ago. This is the result of NRA, nut jobs taking over our airwaves. Liberals thinking no one will believe crazy shit, as they’re watching huge numbers of Americans believe this crazy shit. Liberals ceding elections to RWNJ’s instead of voting.

So how are we to have a substantive discussion on mental health, when we’re facing a Republican party willing to shut down the country and the economy unless we eliminate health care, food stamps, SS and Medicare? Hey, I think everyone who thinks there’s a rapist around every corner and you need a gun to settle the score if someone cuts you off in traffic, is NUTS. I think half of the country has become certifiable. Do you see the Republicans giving us the resources to tag every one of them as batshit crazy?

Well said. *I think half of the country has become certifiable* = this is beginning to be how I’m looking at the state of our union, even though I don’t like to generalize or even admit this is all going on, just from a desire to maintain my own sanity. It’s chilling where we are right now, in any event.

“Navy Yard, Newtown, Tucson, Aurora, Fort Hood,” CNN Chief White House Correspondent Jim Acosta recited, “is the President concerned that his administration will be marked by an inability to resolve this issue of mass shootings?”
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Carney then turned his attention to the GOP, saying “I think your question should be addressed to those senators who chose to ignore the will of their constituents, and ignore will of the American people — I believe that 85% of Democrats, or more voted for, am I right? 85%? Maybe 90% of senate Democrats voted for it? What percentage of Republicans voted for it? What percentage of republicans voted for it? The problem here is not Democrats, the problem here is senators, overwhelmingly from one party, who refuse to do something very simple, which is expand the background check system that everyone believes functions well, but needs to function better. It’s their choice. Those questions should be addressed to those senators.”

Good Morning my Chips and TOD family. This is a wonderful R&S, Chips. Thanks so much.

Congrats to Amk!! So good to have you go back and forth with our wonderful Chips. I love you two. You make my heart laugh.

Chips, Danny’s eyes are beautiful. That was my first thoughts, oh, those eyes. We are going to have to do some babysitting, you think. I am first.
So happy for you, Chips. I wish I could manage the responsibilities of having a little/big one. I have tried twice, and they wear me out because I am so protected of every little thing about them.

Question? Has Layla been around? If I missed you, Layla, (((( You candle is lit this morning)))) Hope you are doing fine. Love you much.

Everyone keep POB and VP Biden in your thoughts, prayers, and meditation. Pray for our focus to move FORWARD for 2014. Received an email from Jim M., yesterday. Signed and gave at the office on my own. Let us stay focus.

Have a beautiful day, TOD family. I love you all so much. Thanks for this beautiful place. Almost finish with the house situation. Just one check to gather up. Praise Almighty. Business is stressful. However, I am so grateful to get all of this behind me.

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((( Candles lit from my home to my TOD family members’ homes.)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))HZ